Tues 14/Fri 17/Sat 18 March

[Si Robin]

Behave, our pitch is a hell of a lot better than most in this league, that's a shit excuse.

We were good today - as Si says, we pressed really well forcing loads of errors from your defenders and we always looked like scoring when we went forward. You had lots of possession and played some decent stuff, but rarely did anything to trouble our keeper.

No no - having loads of possession is much more important than scoring goals!!

Can fans just not accept being beaten anymore? There's always some excuse, or belief their team was actually better. Yes, Exeter had all the ball until they scored in the second half, but this was partly because we didn't press like we did in the first half. We have this habit of sitting on leads and hoping we can shithouse our way to a 1-0 win, especially if we're up at half-time. Exeter were too good for that though and deservedly equalised.

Once we got back ahead though - almost immediately after - at no point did we look like giving up that lead. Alfie's goal was just the icing on the cake.

 

[leedsvaliant]

No no - having loads of possession is much more important than scoring goals!!

Can fans just not accept being beaten anymore? There's always some excuse, or belief their team was actually better. Yes, Exeter had all the ball until they scored in the second half, but this was partly because we didn't press like we did in the first half. We have this habit of sitting on leads and hoping we can shithouse our way to a 1-0 win, especially if we're up at half-time. Exeter were too good for that though and deservedly equalised.

Once we got back ahead though - almost immediately after - at no point did we look like giving up that lead. Alfie's goal was just the icing on the cake.

We had almost 70% possession today but lost deservedly. It still amazes me how people value possession over actual play.

 

[Bobbin']

Pray for that odd Derby fan on here

Lol

 

[WhiteRussian]

We won. Wonderfull. Crap match but who cares when you are as dire as we are.

 

[Si Robin]

We had almost 70% possession today but lost deservedly. It still amazes me how people value possession over actual play.

In our last two league games we've had less than 30% possession. They were the only times this season we've scored 3 goals in games (in the League).

Leicester won the Premier League in 2016 and rarely had more possession than their opponents.

Playing tippy-tappy football and holding onto the ball for 85 mins means nothing if you do sod all with it.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Behave, our pitch is a hell of a lot better than most in this league, that's a shit excuse.

We were good today - as Si says, we pressed really well forcing loads of errors from your defenders and we always looked like scoring when we went forward. You had lots of possession and played some decent stuff, but rarely did anything to trouble our keeper.

I know there are some terrible pitches in this league, but thats no excuse. We spent a fortune on ours in the summer and it provides a decent surface. Its not the reason we lost, that was due to poor defending and missed chances, but it doesn't give the league a good look, does it?
Well done on your three points, you must be overjoyed.
.

 

[PlymouthCasual]

I really do not want to kick an injured animal when they are down but how bad are FGR?

They had zero intention of causing an upset yesterday and even when 1 down they still sat with their two banks of five and offered zero threat.

The most bizarre part of the day was deluded Duncan though, “we came and executed our game plan well”

Uhhhhhhh?

 

[YEO YEO YEO]

I thought Peterborough were a very good side and deserved their win. They started the game on the front foot, used the two wings well as they tried to create chances. However chances were very much limited until their first on 30 mins, and they then missed a glorious chance straight after for 2 nil. We were passive and horrible, and then forced into a change when Erhahon went off injuried. We put an extra body up front and went to a back 4.

As we were chasing the game, we left big gaps as we huffed and puffed. Peterborough doing well to slow the game down at 1-0. Ward connected well with a corner which smacked the post for them too.

Peterborough then scored their 2nd and 3rd and ran down the clock with ease. Really impressed with Mason-Clark and Ward (who used to play for us). The most frustrating thing about the game is we knew they are good offensively, but concede a lot too. I think we had 3 efforts off target, with only Virtue long range effort when at 0-0 any good.

Our first defeat was always going to come before too long, but there is a big gulf between the two sides on that showing.

 

[Super_horns]

In our last two league games we've had less than 30% possession. They were the only times this season we've scored 3 goals in games (in the League).

Leicester won the Premier League in 2016 and rarely had more possession than their opponents.

Playing tippy-tappy football and holding onto the ball for 85 mins means nothing if you do sod all with it.

Yes exactly.

Probably looks good on the possession stats but only one stat really counts.

 

[YEO YEO YEO]

I really do not want to kick an injured animal when they are down but how bad are FGR?

They had zero intention of causing an upset yesterday and even when 1 down they still sat with their two banks of five and offered zero threat.

The most bizarre part of the day was deluded Duncan though, “we came and executed our game plan well”

Uhhhhhhh?

I really expected a slight upturn in results for FGR, but it really does not look like it will come.

The table doesn't lie, the bottom 5 are the worse sides i've seen season. Morecambe however have shown more for me than MK.

 

[mozzavale]

You are been a bit disingenuous there. The ref was not on our side as much as you state. You lost because you were not good enough on the day. We were better. It happens.

He was. Don't think he cheated, he was just out of his depth and lost control completely. How your keeper didn't get booked is beyond laughable.

Agree we weren't good enough though. We were shocking, but a huge part of why we lost came down to Burton getting the ref on board. Fair play to them, it's part of modern football unfortunately. To all our misfortune. Yesterday wasn't entertainment, it was a team getting the win by any means necessary, which I totally understand in their situation. We spent most of the 2nd half watching the Burton keeper lying on the ball, getting up slowly, walking to the edge of the area, checking his socks, repeat.

The rest of the team went to ground with every slight touch, rolling around, and the ref fell for it every single time. It was infuriating to watch because teams (not just Burton) use it as a tactic these days. It wasn't always the way. You'd lose a game because a team simply played better than you on the day. Burton took their chances and just completely killed the game as a spectacle. For a 5 goal match, it was so boring it was untrue.

 

[leedsvaliant]

I really expected a slight upturn in results for FGR, but it really does not look like it will come.

The table doesn't lie, the bottom 5 are the worse sides i've seen season. Morecambe however have shown more for me than MK.

Yep. Mk Dons easily the worst side we've played this season. Would be amazed if they survived.

 

[Laker]

I know there are some terrible pitches in this league, but thats no excuse. We spent a fortune on ours in the summer and it provides a decent surface. Its not the reason we lost, that was due to poor defending and missed chances, but it doesn't give the league a good look, does it?
Well done on your three points, you must be overjoyed.
.

There’s nowhere in the rule book that says any team has to reallocate playing budget towards maintaining their pitch instead. Cheltenham have never been known for having a poor pitch previously.

 

[leedsvaliant]

He was. Don't think he cheated, he was just out of his depth and lost control completely. How your keeper didn't get booked is beyond laughable.

Agree we weren't good enough though. We were shocking, but a huge part of why we lost came down to Burton getting the ref on board. Fair play to them, it's part of modern football unfortunately. To all our misfortune. Yesterday wasn't entertainment, it was a team getting the win by any means necessary, which I totally understand in their situation. We spent most of the 2nd half watching the Burton keeper lying on the ball, getting up slowly, walking to the edge of the area, checking his socks, repeat.

The rest of the team went to ground with every slight touch, rolling around, and the ref fell for it every single time. It was infuriating to watch because teams (not just Burton) use it as a tactic these days. It wasn't always the way. You'd lose a game because a team simply played better than you on the day. Burton took their chances and just completely killed the game as a spectacle. For a 5 goal match, it was so boring it was untrue.

We knew what Burton would be like and we knew the ref would be poor after previous encounters with him. I don't know why we don't do more of the dark arts ourselves. Every other team does it but we just seem too honest and nice. Once you let a team like that get in front, it's very difficult to get back in to it as you can never get up a head of steam. Kirk is a great example...talented player but he also knew exactly how to play the ref, go down and feign injury at the right times, generally wind up the opposition and crowd. We need more of those types.

 

[mozzavale]

We knew what Burton would be like and we knew the ref would be poor after previous encounters with him. I don't know why we don't do more of the dark arts ourselves. Every other team does it but we just seem too honest and nice. Once you let a team like that get in front, it's very difficult to get back in to it as you can never get up a head of steam. Kirk is a great example...talented player but he also knew exactly how to play the ref, go down and feign injury at the right times, generally wind up the opposition and crowd. We need more of those types.

Unfortunately I agree. Bezza on the pod is right. We hate it, but if you don't do it too you're at a disadvantage. Yesterday was a level I've certainly never seen before. Wasn't even discrete, yet somehow the ref completely missed it which just shows how incompetent he was. It was unacceptable really.

 

[Dan Phillips]

Watched the highlights show on ITV4 last night and I'm still struggling to understand what that Exeter fan is on about? Cheltenham's pitch looked absolutely fine, bar one or two little spots around the goalmouth (which is common on most pitches everywhere).

 

[CTFCfan99]

Watched the highlights show on ITV4 last night and I'm still struggling to understand what that Exeter fan is on about? Cheltenham's pitch looked absolutely fine, bar one or two little spots around the goalmouth (which is common on most pitches everywhere).

Glad it's not just me, watched the highlights back a few times and genuinely don't know what he's on about.

 

[Si Robin]

As I said, there's loads of things we can be, and should be, criticised for, a poor pitch isn't one of them.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Watched the highlights show on ITV4 last night and I'm still struggling to understand what that Exeter fan is on about? Cheltenham's pitch looked absolutely fine, bar one or two little spots around the goalmouth (which is common on most pitches everywhere).

Close inspection its poor. Lots of mud in the goalmouths, quite patchy in other places. Clearly I have higher expectations than most!

 

[dedwardp]

There’s nowhere in the rule book that says any team has to reallocate playing budget towards maintaining their pitch instead. Cheltenham have never been known for having a poor pitch previously.

They used to when Gloucester were sharing with them.

 

[Soz]

You are been a bit disingenuous there. The ref was not on our side as much as you state. You lost because you were not good enough on the day. We were better. It happens.

i dunno, if you get a penalty like the one you got, i think the refs on your side. We struggled to get freekicks for similar incidents.

but we were shit and you deserved to win.

 

[Si Robin]

They used to when Gloucester were sharing with them.

Before sharing we were regularly in the top 3 for Pitch of the Year.

 

[thewwfc]

Before sharing we were regularly in the top 3 for Pitch of the Year.

Football teams should never groundshare with egg-chasers, we used to have Wasps, and even though we got one of those semi-artificial pitches to try and mitigate the damage, the pitch was always cut up and threadbare by winter.

Thank god we palmed them off to Coventry.

 

[Bartonyellow]

He was. Don't think he cheated, he was just out of his depth and lost control completely. How your keeper didn't get booked is beyond laughable.

Agree we weren't good enough though. We were shocking, but a huge part of why we lost came down to Burton getting the ref on board. Fair play to them, it's part of modern football unfortunately. To all our misfortune. Yesterday wasn't entertainment, it was a team getting the win by any means necessary, which I totally understand in their situation. We spent most of the 2nd half watching the Burton keeper lying on the ball, getting up slowly, walking to the edge of the area, checking his socks, repeat.

The rest of the team went to ground with every slight touch, rolling around, and the ref fell for it every single time. It was infuriating to watch because teams (not just Burton) use it as a tactic these days. It wasn't always the way. You'd lose a game because a team simply played better than you on the day. Burton took their chances and just completely killed the game as a spectacle. For a 5 goal match, it was so boring it was untrue.

Them pesky refs eh. If it wasn’t for them you would be top it seems.
Dark arts or not - you were shite yesterday and we were better. Own it.

 

[Si Robin]

Football teams should never groundshare with egg-chasers, we used to have Wasps, and even though we got one of those semi-artificial pitches to try and mitigate the damage, the pitch was always cut up and threadbare by winter.

Thank god we palmed them off to Coventry.

It was the football team not the rugby team. I dread to think what would have happened if we'd had that lot on our pitch.

 

[valefan16]

Seen the highlights back and deserve an 18 rating.

Firstly the penalty, Christ it’s cheating, not the referee but the player that, nowhere near enough contact and goes down like a sack of shit.

We can feel a bit aggrieved because that’s a game changing moment, the referee was spot on with their cheating in the incident first half but has that wrong.

That said there are two points, firstly if we defend it properly in the first instance we don’t even have the discussion and Donnelly should deal with it earlier and is caught out.

Secondly we knew it was coming, I said pre game what we’d get from a Maamria side, his Stevenage side was worse than Westley for it and his Oldham ones not much better. We are too soft and get praise from Ipswich and Bolton fans for having a good go and playing the right way etc… but we got 0 points so we have to start resorting to those levels ourselves or as above said your at a disadvantage straight out.

We can moan about the referee all we want the facts remain we had an early lead, against a side who’d been mullered four days before and had them where we wanted them, they were there for the absolute taking and we contrived to balls it up, that’s on us not the referee.

First we concede we don’t play to the whistle , get back and despite bodies no one gets a simple block in, the less said about the third the better, Donnelly pants down again, no one deals with it.

Their keeper was equally awful on both goals but we seemed too intent on walking it in rather than having a pop at him.

Taylor’s miss was absolutely appalling.

 

[masi51]

Cannot believe the antiquated views on this topic.............Our pitch is shite and will be re-laid this summer after two pink concerts.
We have had Rugby league world cup on the pitch last October..............We make money utilising our pitch this way.
Add Snooker ,Beer Festivals...Pro boxing..And Conferance facilities....Throw in both a covid vaccination and a temporary court....And that is where the extra money to improve our squad comes from

 

[mozzavale]

Them pesky refs eh. If it wasn’t for them you would be top it seems.
Dark arts or not - you were shite yesterday and we were better. Own it.

I said we were shocking. Fully owned. I think the issue here is you accepting that your team adopt a high level of gamesmanship...you're not the first, won't be the last. Own it.

 

[Bartonyellow]

I said we were shocking. Fully owned. I think the issue here is you accepting that your team adopt a high level of gamesmanship...you're not the first, won't be the last. Own it.

If you read my original post I stated a large percentage of our fanbase do not like it. We have lost up to a 1000 on a match day as his tactics polarise the fanbase. Especially as clough/Rowett and even JfH played cleaner and faker. I certainly do not like it, although I like the results. In honesty I hope he goes at the end of the season. You have kept us up, great - now move on. Although he will probably stay.

But here is the thing. We did the same Tuesday against Peterborough and they tore us a new arsehole. So we can be beaten and easily. We have let in 70 goals. You scored after 2 minutes - so can only blame yourselves.
And at times yesterday it was like the parting of the Red Sea in your defence. I was surprised how much you backed off.

 

[mozzavale]

If you read my original post I stated a large percentage of our fanbase do not like it. We have lost up to a 1000 on a match day as his tactics polarise the fanbase. Especially as clough/Rowett and even JfH played cleaner and faker. I certainly do not like it, although I like the results. In honesty I hope he goes at the end of the season. You have kept us up, great - now move on. Although he will probably stay.

But here is the thing. We did the same Tuesday against Peterborough and they tore us a new arsehole. So we can be beaten and easily. We have let in 70 goals. You scored after 2 minutes - so can only blame yourselves.
And at times yesterday it was like the parting of the Red Sea in your defence. I was surprised how much you backed off.

Our defending yesterday was frighteningly bad. We were there for the taking. I was worried every time you came forward and played balls over our defence, they just couldn't cope.

I don't mind losing and admitting the best team won. We list 3 - 2 to Ipswich earlier the season, no time wasting, no keeper taking 4 days clear the ball, it was just a great entertaining game. Yesterday was horrendous. Complete bore fest.